Personnel Selection The basic idea of personnel selection is to choose the best applicant for a job. There are several steps involved in a successful selection process. First, a job analysis is undertaken to determine exactly what the new employee will be doing. It usually consists of a job description and personnel specifications. The job description is a detailed description of what the worker does and the conditions under which he or she works. It is obtained by examining published analyses of similar jobs, interviewing people already doing the job, or observing people as they work on the job. Personnel specifications describe the characteristics of the person required for the position and might include such things as personality, physical ability, mental ability, experience, and motivation.
There are numerous indicators involved in the process of employee selection, but the most common include application blanks, references, tests, and interviews. The application blank is virtually universal and is usually the initial step in the selection process. Customarily, the application requests routine biographical information, work experience, qualifications, and sometimes personal information (from finances to hobbies). Care is taken to meet guidelines of fair employment legislation.
A common selection technique is to require that the applicant submit the names of several references who can testify to the applicant's abilities, or to provide several letters of recommendation. The major limitation of letters of recommendation is that they tend to be rather positive regardless of the qualities of the applicant, since the applicant often can choose who writes the letters.
Often the selection process includes tests of mental ability, aptitude, motor ability, and personality. (Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, physical characteristics can only be tested if all